United Methodist officials urged leading General Conference delegates to support church divestment from Caterpillar, Inc, for selling products to Israel. Stephen Sprecher, a director with the Board of Church and Society, and Susanne Hoder of the Interfaith Peace Initiative of the New England Annual Conference made their arguments in a panel discussion at the Pre-General Conference News Briefing sponsored by United Methodist Communications January 24-26 in Fort Worth, Texas.
On the same panel, Douglas Mills of the United Methodist Commission on Christian Unity and Dave Zellner of the United Methodist Board of Pensions obliquely questioned the wisdom of divestment. Leading delegates from all the U.S. annual conferences were present, as were United Methodist communicators. Several representatives from Jewish groups also attended out of concern over the divestment issue.
The Rev. Steve Sprecher claimed that the proposed divestment was “not anti-Semitic, and . . . not anti-Israel.” (Photo courtesy UMNS) |
“It tears me up to see the pain and suffering in the Middle East,” said Sprecher, a Church and Sociey director from Oregon. Speaking on his board’s divestment proposal, he argued, “It’s not anti-Semitic and it’s not anti-Israel.”
Sprecher said the anti-Caterpillar proposal is aimed at Caterpillar’s sale of bulldozers to Israel, which he said uses them to build the “illegal” security wall against Palestinian suicide bombers. He noted that Israel bulldozes Palestinian homes, without mentioning that homes are targeted for housing weapons depots or terrorist activities. Sprecher cited a 2003 incident where pro-Palestinian activist Rachel Corrie died while trying to block an Israeli bulldozer built by Caterpillar. Caterpillar is “involved in suffering causes by its products,” Sprecher said. “We also condone it if we do nothing.”
Representing the New England Conference, Susanne Hoder alleged that United Methodist investments with Caterpillar help “sustain the occupation.” She alleged that the church is “deriving income from the persecution of Christians,” because a small minority of Palestinians is Christian. “We need to stand with Jews who stand against oppression,” Hoder insisted, citing a very small number of Jewish groups that support divestment aimed against Israel.
Questioning the push towards anti-Israel divestment was Dave Zellner of the United Methodist Pensions Board. “It’s uncharted territory to divest from a particular company,” he said, explaining that United Methodism had never specifically practiced divestment before. “If you divest from Caterpillar you take away our voice,” Zellner pointed out. “It’s important to hear all sides of the story.”
Doug Mills of the Commission on Christian Unity similarly questioned the anti-Caterpillar initiative. “Perceived simple solutions don’t always serve the church well,” he said. “This will have an impact on interfaith relations.”
Both Mills and Zellner were indirect in opposing the divestment proposal. Sprecher and Hoder were far blunter in their advocacy. “This is a legitimate American response to injustice,” Hoder insisted, warning against “powerful Israeli lobby groups.” Hoder also claimed that “money goes into the pockets of Israeli leaders” and that U.S. support for Israel fuels “income disparity” among Israelis, whose “wealthiest people are associated with the military.”
During a question and answer session, two liberal Jewish clerics in the audience endorsed anti-Caterpillar divestment. “You are not anti-Semitic,” one declared. “You stand for justice.” Another told the pro-divestment panelists: “I admire your bravery.”
In the few moments he was allowed at the microphone, Rabbi Gary Greenebaum of the American Jewish Committee disagreed. “There are more people today who are Jewish who are concerned about this meeting than who are United Methodist,” he told the panel, illustrating widespread Jewish concern over United Methodism’s possibly endorsing divestment. “Don’t give in to the demonization of Israel.”
Tim Bias, pastor of First United Methodist Church in Peoria where Caterpillar is headquartered, asked Sprecher if the Board of Church and Society whether the Board had any discussions with Caterpillar before endorsing divestment. Sprecher regretted that there had been no such conversation before the vote. “We would serve ourselves better if we had conversation before passing resolutions,” Bias responded.
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